The Moon Lake Massacre

New Harmony, Utah

Thursday 6th October 2016, 14:21 PM

Licking my wounds, Mike darkly mused with disgust. How on earth had he ended up in this position? Stewing in his own shame back home after what had been a disaster of a couple days? It had been a long time since he had felt so helpless, saved by strangers who had very clearly laid out their contempt for him.

I shouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth, he reminded himself. Those two engineers had saved his life, in the end. Had taken him to hospital to make sure that there wasn't any damage. He'd fractured his hand which was now bound in a cast and had sustained a few other injuries, though it was his pride which had taken the biggest hit, he feared.

When he heard the car rumble into his driveway, he groaned. The last thing I need right now are visitors. Yet he got off his armchair and stumbled towards the window. A mixture of relief and dread filled him at who it was, immediately replaced by worry. How would she react, seeing him like this?

She was alone, as best as he could tell. Driving that blue sedan of hers. Wearing that purple t-shirt and suede jacket she always wore.

Before she could see him in the window, Mike backed off, deep in thought. For some time, he considered simply pretending not to be home. If she sees me like this, she'll start asking questions. She'll see right through me if I start lying.

So he waited, sure of his decision. It's what's best. His doorbell rang and when he didn't answer, it rang again. Then a third time. Then a few knocks on the door. It continued for perhaps a minute or two before the knocks and rings stopped. The sting of regret overshadowed his coy relief.

Both were torn asunder when his house phone began to ring. He checked the number and scowled. When he didn't answer it, his mobile phone was next. Ring after ring, followed by a couple of text messages.

He checked them. Mike, where are you? I came by your house but no answer.

With a sigh, he read the second one. I'm worried about you. Please answer if you can.

Having a quick glance outside the window, he saw that she hadn't left. I'm not getting away with this, he realised. It turned out, having people who cared about you made it difficult to disappear.

Mustering up his strength, Mike headed for the front door, hesitated, and then opened it. With a recoil, Charlie stared blankly at him, then relaxed.

"Hey, Char." Mike greeted her, trying to sound not at all unenthusiastic.

Breathing in, Charlie's eyes flickered between repose and anxiety. "Mike. Sorry, I've been trying to contact you last couple days. I wasn't getting any answer, so I got worried. Are you-"

When her eyes flickered onto his cast which he'd stupidly forgot to hide, as well as the cuts and bruises on his face, she froze. Grimacing, Mike shrugged, "It's worse than it looks."

"Mike…what happened?"

"Just…had a little bit of an accident. Did you want to come inside?"

Though she nodded, Mike could see the trepidation in her eyes as she stepped inside. Shutting the door, he stepped into the kitchen. "Water? Soda? I've got alcohol, but, you know…"

"Water will be fine." She assured him.

Once he'd gotten her drink and rejoined her in the living room, he sat down. I must look like a ghoul, he bitterly thought. It brought him no joy for her to see him like this.

"What happened, Mike?" She asked again, not even starting with the small talk. "You've been quiet this past week. Then I see you like this…"

"Like I said, it looks worse than it is."

"Are you in danger?"

As he looked into her eyes, he thought of every lie he could muster. As he played them in his head, he always came to the same conclusion. She won't buy it.

"Look," He gritted his teeth, "I'm running an investigation. You know, looking into stuff to do with our fathers. Fazbear Entertainment. Nothing major, I'm just trying to get answers."

"Did they do this to you?"

"I did it more to myself, more than anything. Bit off a bit more than I could chew, that's all."

But she wasn't convinced. "Mike…I'm worried about you."

Then a brutal thought came to him. She can't be involved in this. I can't do that to her.

"Char," He eventually answered, "you hardly know me."

She blinked. "Mike?"

"You don't know me. You don't know why I'm doing this. It's best if you just leave it like that."

"But…we're family."

With pain, Mike shook his head. "Until just a couple weeks ago, I was convinced you were dead. You'd be better off considering me the same."

Charlie stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. "Well…I'm sorry that things have been so hard for you…but that doesn't give you the right to treat us…to treat me…like this. To come back into my life, after all these years…I can't understand someone who is so obsessed with the past that's not even theirs and let it fuel every little thing they do."

"Well," Mike gritted his teeth and crossed his arms, "then what are you doing here?"

He expected—and perhaps wanted—her to simply turn around and leave at that. Yet she didn't, merely gazing at him sadly, "What happened to you, Mike?"

"Nothing happened. Truth is, Char, this is who I am. This is who I've always been. A sad, miserable wretch who got to live while better people didn't. I'm sorry if I let you think any differently."

She closed her eyes and then turned to leave, so he followed her. However, before Mike could shut the door, she stopped and turned to him one final time. "You know, it's funny. I think I would actually believe that…but you were the one to turn up to my doorstep."

As he watched her leave and felt a newly-poked self-inflicted hole in his heart, he told himself he could sob about it later. He had work to do tonight. Shutting the door, he steeled himself.

Salt Lake City Outskirts, Utah

Monday 26th June 2017 01:14 AM

The rest of the journey towards Moon Lake was quiet, fortunately. Apart from the murmurs of the other passengers and a few glances he got. It seemed that explaining who he was had not settled the suspicions.

It needed to be done, Caine told himself. This little group of misfits were set up on a foundation of questions and concerns. Truth be told, it was a situation he was well used to.

"Alright," John spoke up from the front, "I reckon we're about five or ten minutes away. What are we driving into?"

Still with his eyes closed, Caine answered, "If we're lucky, my contact and his allies will take us in."

"Okay…and if we're not?"

Then we're dead men and women walking, Caine bitterly pointed out to himself. "We'll deal with it as it happens."

They were perhaps a couple minutes away from the destination on the map when John quietly pulled up to the side of the road, just out of view. "Uh, Mr. Caine? Might wanna take a quick look at this."

That's not good. Climbing from his spot, Caine peered past Lamar and Marla, as he'd overheard during the limited conversations going on, towards what John was talking about. When he saw it, a chill ran up his spine.

"Any idea what we're looking at?" John asked him warily.

"It's a war camp." Caine explained grimly, "Probably set up within the last hour. They're bringing in munitions and men by trucks."

Jessida blinked, staring, "A war camp? For what?"

"My guess?" Caine grunted, "For whoever else is at that lodge."

"Then I guess that's that." John began to reverse the car a little more into the shade, "We need to get out of here."

"John." Charlie warned.

"There's no fighting that." John shook his head, "For all we know, Caine's contact is dead already."

But she pressed on. "We don't have anywhere else to go."

"We can get across state lines. Head to Montana, or Minnesota, or-"

"They'll know soon enough that your friends aren't in their jail cell." Caine quietly brought up, "We head back into Salt Lake, their patrols will be on the lookout. Jessica, could you crack the window open just a bit?"

Hesitating, she did so. They all heard the gunfire in the distance, making several of them shrink. Breathing in, Caine knew it was a double-edged sword.

"John," Caine said, "get the others into a secluded area. Make sure you're not followed."

"Why?" They shared eye contact through the rear-view mirror, "What are you planning to do?"

"Like I said before," He answered, "something stupid and crazy. Judging by that gunfire, the fight is still very much on. I say we can't win the fight for them, but we can certainly make Blackwood's lives more difficult."

Charlie nodded, slowly, thinking carefully. "Okay. I'll come with you."

"That's…not a good idea."

"You helped us." She insisted, "We'll help you, now."

"Charlie, are you sure about this?" John asked her.

"Yes, I am."

John sighed, tired. "Lamar, can you drive?"

He answered, "Uh, yeah, I should be able to."

"Get the others to safety." Clicking the glove box opened, John retrieved a pistol from it. "Hope I won't get in trouble for the lack of an in-date concealed carry permit, Officer Burke?"

Mr. Burke coughed, "I'll overlook it for now."

"Thank you." John and Charlie got out the front, with Lamar taking the former's place. Opening the boot, Caine climbed out, checking his own gun. Then he led the two of his companions into the treeline as Lamar drove the others away.

Once they were covered in foliage, Caine pointed towards the roads. "See there? Roadblocks. They're trying to wall them in."

"Trying to stop them from escaping?" John asked.

"Exactly." Shaking his head in dismay as he continued, Caine knew how bad it was. "These Blackwood thugs, from what I've seen, mercy isn't exactly their policy. This, to me, says that they're planning on wiping them all out and they don't want them running."

But John interjected, "That, or they've run into more trouble than they thought. If it took them this long to set up that war camp, I mean."

When Thomas listened to those words, his doubts at first convinced him it was vain hope at best. However, the more he dwelled on them, he realised the truth. "You're right. These mercs are struggling. Overcompensating. It might mean there's still a chance…"

His words drifted off as he heard the helicopter amidst the gunfire. Looking up towards the night sky, Caine's eyes fell onto the lights drifting. It's getting closer. "We better move a little faster." He warned the other two, who silently agreed.

Yet as his eyes continued to drift onto where he saw the helicopter, he saw that it was neither heading in their direction, nor was it heading in the direction of the gunfire. Instead, it was closing in towards one of the cliff edges he could just about make out from here. As it got closer and closer to the cliff edge before descending, a sense of dread filled him.

They're planning something, he accepted. As various ideas flickered in his head, he knew that either way, their heading had just changed.

"Change of plans." Caine said, resolute, "We're not heading to the fight, nor the camp just yet. We're heading up there."

John asked, confused, "Why? What have they done?"

"I don't know." Caine admitted, "But I have a bad feeling that whatever they just dropped off was for a very bad reason."

Charlie reached out for his wrist held it, reassuring him. "Lead the way. We'll help out as best we can."

"Good." Caine replied, his weariness growing, "Stay close."

Moon Lake Lodge, Utah

Monday 26th June 2017 01:57 AM

"Mike!" Gabriel yelled out, pointing, "Do you see that?"

Firing at another one of the mercs, Mike responded, "What? What is it?"

"Lights! And…propellers?"

Damn it, Mike cursed as he saw what Gabriel was describing descending. "Ty, the chopper's landing somewhere! Just across that ridge!"

After a few moments, Tyler's voice called down from his vantage point, "Yeah, I see it! We'll deal with it as it comes-"

"Attack from the west side!" Spencer's voice growled into the radio and Mike growled back. They just keep coming.

Cursing, Tyler yelled down, "I'll handle it! Mike, keep the front covered; don't know how, but your callouts are just about the only thing keeping us alive right now!"

Satisfied at that comment, Mike couldn't help but shoot a smirk towards Charlie and the others before he pulled himself back into the fight. Every time Blackwood had closed in on one of their blindspots, he had been there to warn them.

Only because of them, he reminded himself.

All of a sudden as he was taking another shot, Jeremy appeared out of nowhere. "Mike, I think there's more coming on the west side."

As much as he hated to do it in front of his friend, Mike fired another shot, knowing this one hit. "How many?"

"A lot." Jeremy admitted. "Coming from the mountain range."

Nodding, Mike called into the radio, "Ty, more coming over the mountain range!"

After a moment of silence, Tyler replied, "Right, I see 'em. Wait…ah, crap-"

The roar of an explosion cut him short and Mike, seconds later, felt himself be thrown as the entire building rumbled. Screams from inside the building forced him back from the ground as he ran to assess the damage.

"Ty?" Mike demanded in the radio, "Ty, do you hear me?"

When he didn't respond, Mike screamed his rage and ran. "Spence, cover the front! I'm gonna go check on Ty!"

"Got it! I'll make sure people inside are okay!"

As he turned the corner, Charlie appeared in front of him, eyes wide. "It was…some sort of weapon. But I think he's alright, he's just on the ground, now!"

Giving a grateful nod, Mike didn't stop his stride. Dead bodies, nearly thirty, lay on the ground leading up to the lodge. When he saw Tyler, covered in soot, firing away; not with his rifle which had disappeared, but with one of Blackwood's own rifles, he felt relief.

That relief vanished when he saw the merc, clutching a wound in his stomach in one hand and the machete in the other. Mike aimed and clicked, but nothing happened. Empty. His ammo was back at the cache at the front of the lodge. He saw Cassidy on the other side of the deck, looking around and picking up a rock.

She won't make it in time, Mike realised and before he even knew what he was doing, he ran. He covered the distance midway by the time Cassidy's rock found its target and Tyler heard it, turning around, seeing the man charging at him. But he couldn't turn his gun around in time; not in time to shoot his attacker. Not in time to stop the merc from lunging with his machete, aiming for his neck.

Not in time to stop Mike from intercepting him. Before the machete found Tyler's neck, Mike stepped in front of him and felt the machete penetrate his chest, straight through his sternum, and he gasped.

"Michael!" He heard Samantha scream his name from inside the lodge and he froze, looking down at the handle. Then, looking up into the stunned face of his attacker, Mike clenched his fist and swung a punch, just like he was taught by his father.

The punch connected and recoiled and before he could recover, Tyler shot him straight through the head. Then he looked at Mike, aghast, as Mike gazed down at the machete in his chest. Narrowing his blank eyes, Mike grasped the handle with both hands and slowly ripped it out of the new hole, shivering. When he felt nothing different, he murmured. "Huh."

"Okay," Tyler muttered, a nearly-disgusted look on his face, "That's badass."

"Guys, how are we looking?!" Spencer demanded and Tyler indicated that his own was not operational.

Grabbing his own, Mike confirmed, "We are, Spence. This side of the building's screwed, though. We're heading back to you!"

As he and Tyler ran and separated to cover the other sides of the buildings, Dave appeared. "Mike, Gabriel said that helicopter landed up on that cliffedge!"

Frowning, Mike slowed his run. "Cliffedge? Why…?"

Then it came to him. There's no way they would land that chopper up there for no reason. That means…

"Down." Mike muttered, then grabbed his radio and roared into it, "Everybody get down!"

A blast of sound came from the cliffs and Mike knew what it was. Hurrying to where he last saw Spencer, Mike saw him on the ground, clutching his face. Blood covered it and he feared the worst. He took two steps towards him before instinct stopped him.

The shot from the sniper rifle hit the wall he was about to stand in front of and he threw himself into cover. He looked towards the fallen Spencer and screamed out, "Spence! Are you okay?!"

To his utmost gratitude, Spencer stirred and moaned, "I…I think so. Bloody hell…"

We don't have a lot of time, Mike told himself. Looking towards the window, he spotted one of the staff of AESIR watching out, frightened. "Do you have anything we can use? A shield or something?"

Hesitating, the staff member nodded and said, "We…we have some in the cache!"

"Grab one! We need to get everyone inside!"

Moments after the staff member left, as Mike continued to watch painfully for any more movement and towards his injured friend. When the staff member finally returned and threw him the ballistic shield, Mike caught it with difficulty. Then, without even thinking for a moment, he ran, aiming the shield towards where he knew the snipers to be. His eyes caught the faces of his fellow souls as they forced themselves to continue watching the perimeter, in fear for him.

A round from the rifle rocked the shield, but he kept going. He reached Spencer, using the shield as cover, and reached for his hand. "Kid, can you move?"

Gritting his teeth, Spencer took his aid up, shivering. "I…I think so."

"Stay with me. Okay?"

Slowly, Mike led Spencer back towards the lodge, another two shots rocking the shield. It's not gonna hold up for much longer. He headed up the steps, to the front doors of the lodge, where Samantha was waiting, her eyes in despair. She guided Spencer inside and without another word, Mike darted for the other end of the building to where he knew Tyler to be.

Another shot hit his shield and Mike felt it buckle, the polycarbonate partially shattering. It's not gonna hold up for much longer. Seeing Tyler taking cover, Mike quickly reached him. "We've gotta move."

"Spence?" Tyler demanded.

"He's safe." Mike assured him, "Now we've got to get you back inside."

Scowling, Tyler nodded, "Alright, lead the way, Captain America."

Holding the shield in front of them, Mike led Tyler back towards the building. Behind him, he suddenly heard Charlie's voice. "Watch the step!"

Grunting his gratitude, Mike repeated, "Watch the step." Sure enough, they barely avoided tripping over the rubble behind them. Just as they moved up the stairs again, one of the snipers shot the shield once more.

This time, the round ripped through the material, destroying half of the top. Cursing, Mike reacted quickly, grabbing Tyler and nearly pushing him towards the doorway. The second round hit, piercing the second half of the shield, and landing right into his abdomen.

Mike fell onto the floor, gasping. Winded, he clawed his way up and scurried towards the door, as the shield was lifted up by Gabriel and Cassidy, covering him as the third shot was fired. Then he leapt through the doorway and Samantha and Tyler slammed the doors shut.

"Jesus Christ." Tyler howled, a rare weakness in his voice.

Looking at him with wide eyes, Samantha asked Mike, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." Mike mumbled, checking his torso and wincing at the two new holes in him.

Shaken, Samantha stumbled back over to the injured Spencer and tended to him. Rearming himself, Mike spoke aloud, "Char, I need the lot of you in here."

"Who are you talking to?" Tyler asked, confused.

Unable to offer anything but a shrug to that, Mike spotted her next to him, looking gaunt. "Mike…what should we do?"

"I don't know." Mike admitted, knowing now that they were trapped like rats. "I just don't know…"

Moon Lake, Utah

Monday 26th June 2017 02:34 AM

The moment he heard the first loud bang reverb the valley, Caine knew exactly what Blackwood had done. Snipers. That's going to be a problem. When he'd had a brief look of the area, in the back of Caine's mind, he knew it would be a possible weak point. Most other foes they'd go up against would not have been able to abuse it, but an enemy with air support?

All Blackwood have to do is pin them down inside that building, he gritted his teeth, and let their other forces flush them out.

"Snipers?" John inquired and Caine answered it with a nod. "That's bad, right?"

"Aye, it's bad." Knowing that time was of the essence, Caine looked back on them. "I'm heading up there to deal with them. If it goes south, the two of you will be better off heading back down to the others and getting out of here."

But John shook his head, "Too little, too late, Mr. Caine."

"I agree." Charlie spoke up, "You're not getting rid of us that easy."

Though he considered arguing further, Caine accepted that it was for naught. "Alright. Just stay back. These are heavily-armed and well-trained mercs we're going up against."

Heading up towards the cliff edge, he heard the shots getting closer and closer. We're closing in. When he saw the shapes crouched alongside the cliff, he stopped and looked around as thoroughly as he could.

I'm counting four. Taking a breath, he closed in on the first shape. Without even taking a moment to think, he grabbed the man around the throat and squeezed. The merc didn't go out immediately and fought, so Caine had to wrap his legs around him and hope the sound wouldn't alert the others.

When the sniper finally went out, Caine kicked the rifle off the cliff and moved in to the second one, but not before grabbing the baton from the fallen merc and cracking it over the second's head. When the rifle fell from the merc's hands and caused some rocks to fall with it, he knew he'd made a mistake.

One of the mercs heard the rocks and turned his head, spotting Caine and gasping. "Contact. Contact-"

Without giving an inch, Caine drew his revolver with its four bullets and fired, hitting the man with a lucky shot in the chest. The merc's body armor kept him alive, but he fell to the floor, winded. Hurrying, Caine reached him and punched him in the jaw whilst he was on the ground, then rolled to dodge the fourth's withdrawn pistol fire.

Breathing in, he aimed and fired, striking the fourth merc in the stomach. Then fired again and struck him in the hand he was holding his pistol with. Screaming, the merc dropped his pistol and Caine closed in, kicking him square in the face.

Satisfied, Caine turned and looked down towards the lodge. Then he began to walk back towards where he'd come from. And I still have one bullet left-

Crack.

White light blinded him for a moment as he felt himself hit the ground. Pure instinct caused him to hit out with his leg, striking the fifth merc in his own leg and causing his shot meant for Caine's head to misfire. Then Thomas scrambled up, but before he could fight back, the merc dropped his pistol and tackled him.

They fell onto the cliff's floor and grappled, in a situation Thomas had been well used to once, a long time ago. This time, he couldn't find the advantage. Pinning his arm against the floor, the merc grasped him around the neck in an elevated chin choke hold and Caine felt the life squeeze out of him.

Red-faced, he punched, but it had very little effect. He rolled and squirmed, but couldn't find a release. He felt his vision begin to darken…

…before the gunshots that preceded the grip around his neck loosening nearly burst his eardrums again. Gasping for air, Caine rolled away, clutching his neck. Eyes wide, he looked back at the merc and saw him lying on the ground with three new holes in his head and upper chest, dead.

"Crap." John groaned, before running to Caine's aid, Charlie following. "Dude, you okay?"

Coughing, Caine accepted the hand up, "Aye…bloody hell. Thank you."

Shaking his head in dismay, Caine once more cursed his loss of vision. Bloody blind spots. "Thank you for that. Must be getting rusty…"

That made John snort. "You just took on four armed guys on your own. If this is you rusty, I'd love to see you at full strength."

I don't think I'll ever be, a dark thought came to him and he couldn't help but dwell on that exact number. Only four. That much difficulty, and there were only four of them.

As he made sure that the mercs upon recovering would not be a threat, Caine followed Charlie and John back down the mountain. The latter turned to look at him. "So what now?"

"It's not over yet." Caine admitted, deep in thought. "We've still got that war camp back down on the road. Blackwood are not going to back down until they've been neutered."

Charlie nodded, "Have you got any ideas for that?"

"One or two." Sighing, he felt his weariness growing even more. "I hate to be a one trick pony, but I'm losing my creativity."

Moon Lake Lodge, Utah

Monday 26th June 2017 02:58 AM

Shouting out in rage, Mike aimed and fired, killing another merc. Minutes pinned down in the lodge had made things progressively more difficult, especially with one of them now down injured. Had it not been for Charlie, Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie, Fritz, Cassidy, and Dave, they would have been overrun many times over.

"Mikey!" He heard Fritz yell down from the second story of the building, "I ain't seeing those snipers up there!"

Frowning, Mike yelled up, long ago choosing to ignore the confused looks he would get. "Are you sure?"

"Aye, positive!"

Nodding, Mike yelled up to Tyler, "Think those snipers have been dealt with!"

A moment later, Tyler's voice replied, "What? How?"

"Haven't a clue! Can you check?"

"Aye, I suppose we'll know one way or another!" Running to the other side of the building, Tyler poked his head out and aimed for the cliffs. When nothing happened, he nodded, "Yep, don't know where they've gone, but they're not up there anymore!"

Taking another shot, Mike yelled up, "Should we risk it?"

"Eh, why not? We're probably all dead, anyway!"

Readying himself, Mike prepared to leave the lodge again. "Okay. Same as before, you guys."

Jumping out the smashed window, Mike fired several more shots. He'd long since stopped counting how many bodies he'd dropped that night. When he saw Spencer stumbling towards the window, rifle in hand, Mike eyed him in worry.

"I'll be fine!" Spencer answered the unsaid question, "I'm not going down without a fight!"

Sending him a respectful nod, Mike grimaced before firing out of cover again. Shot after shot. The parking area in front of the lodge was now filled with cars and dead bodies, the woods and hills surrounding the area in a similar state.

"Mike!" Gabriel yelled down, "That helicopter is back!"

Squinting, Mike saw he was right. It was closing in. The fear began to become something else. An idea, maybe.

"It's getting closer." Dave's voice came from his right, curious.

"So it is." Mike agreed, then shouted out, "Ty, helicopter's back! You think you can nail it from here?"

"Aye, I reckon so!" Tyler shouted back and Mike could hear the grin in it.

"Good!" Mike smirked, "Then take it down!"

A few moments passed and then the roar of a 50. Cal sniper round pierced the area. Seconds later, the helicopter began to spin out of control. Then it descended, falling into the lake.

"Take that, you Godless sons!" Tyler roared and Mike cheered in response.

That cheer was cut short when he saw the battalion of mercs marching up from the road. Groaning, Mike aimed and fired. Leading the battalion was the soldier in black armor with those red stripes. Jones, Mike reminded himself.

But before the barrage of bullets could begin flying, an explosion rumbled the very ground they were standing on.

They all froze, misfits and mercenaries alike, as the fireball spread up, licking the sky, from down the very same road Blackwood had just marched up from.

"Fall back." Jones spoke over the fireball, then shouted, "Fall back!"

Throwing down smoke grenades, Blackwood turned tail and fled back down the hill. Mike watched on, in shock, as their enemies retreated from the battlefield.

The seconds turned to minutes as Mike and Tyler stood there, waiting for the moment another attack would come. When it never did, Mike slumped against the wall of the lodge, feeling more tired than he'd ever felt these past six months.

Charlie, Dave, and Cassidy all appeared around him, the former kneeling down and reaching for his hand.

"We won." He heard Tyler murmur nearby, rifle still at the ready. "We won? How…how the hell did we win?"

But Mike didn't have the answer. "I don't know. I just…don't know."

Taking several long breaths, Tyler shook himself out of his stupor. "Alright. Keep an eye on the perimeter. Everybody who can walk, get a gun and help us out!"

The door opened and Spencer left, followed by Samantha and the staff members of AESIR. Climbing up to his feet, Mike nodded gratefully towards his friends and whispered, "Just…keep an eye out. We're not out of the woods, yet."

"We will, Michael." Charlie smiled, but it faltered as the shadow fell onto Mike. Turning, Mike saw Henry, holding his shotgun, heading his way. Shooting Charlie a sympathetic look, Mike took the hand Henry offered and shook it.

"You really saved our hides tonight, Mr. Schmidt." Henry told him.

With a shrug, Mike replied, "I had help."

"Everyone, form up!" Tyler yelled out suddenly and Mike immediately sprang to action, taking aim. "Contact in the smoke!"

Sighting his iron sights down towards the smoke, Mike saw the figure approaching. Keeping himself as still as a statue, Mike watched, ready to fire.

Then the figure shouted out, "Friendly! We're friendlies!"

Mike and Tyler shot each other a glance as the figure, a man in his forties, left the smoke, hands in the air. He's not Blackwood, Mike immediately thought. His second thought was shock as he recognised the face.

"Hold your fire!" Spencer suddenly yelled out, groggy but still determined, "That's John!"

So it is, Mike mused. John approached them, hands still in the air, as other figures began to emerge from the smoke. Five of them, two helping a wounded older man. Allowing himself to lower his rifle, Mike instinctively stayed back.

Unsteady but growing stronger, Spencer walked down the steps and grabbed John's offered hand, "It's damn good to see you. These your friends?"

"They are." John nodded, "We've got wounded. Is it possible…?"

"Come on," Samantha took over, guiding the two carrying the wounded man towards the door, "bring him inside."

Another figure emerged from the smoke, a woman. When Mike saw her, he felt a stab of pain in his chest. She was still wearing that suede jacket and purple t-shirt. Spencer gave a relieved nod to her as she approached, but she suddenly froze, her eyes locked onto something.

Then she said the word Mike knew was coming. "D…Dad?"

All of their eyes fell onto the one she was speaking to. Biting his lip, Henry stepped forward. "Charlie…"

Closing his eyes, Mike heard the small voice behind him. "Charlie?"

"I'm sorry." Henry said, trying to remain strong as she approached him, "I'm so sorry. I had to do it. To protect you."

"Dad?" Charlie repeated again, stepping closer, her eyes in pain.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl." Henry pleaded, but before he could say anything else, she closed the distance. The two embraced.

"Oh my God." Charlie wept, "Daddy…"

"I'm so sorry." Henry said again, tears in his eyes, "I've missed you…so much…"

The rest of them watched on, in surprise and nearly happiness mixed together. Not Mike. All he could feel was the turmoil in his friends who stood near him, watching.

"Charlie." Dave said, reaching for her.

"He…" Charlie nearly whispered, not trusting her voice enough to say it any louder, "He replaced me?"

Every bit of Mike wanted to tell her that it wasn't true. To come up with some explanation. Yet he knew nothing he could ever say to her would be enough. Behind him, Cassidy hesitated, then reached for Charlie's shoulder, clasping a hand onto it. On the other side, Dave reached for Charlie's hand.

Just as Mike thought his own inner turmoil wouldn't grow any more, he then saw Samantha. He'd seen her guiding Harry and Katie aside, the latter biting her lip as she tried to comfort her brother. Harry had been fighting back tears, but as his mother comforted him, he had failed.

Briefly turning, Tyler and Mike made eye contact before breaking it, both steeling themselves.

"I'm glad you guys are safe." Spencer said as he and John shook hands, "I'm sorry I let you down."

"You didn't." John assured him, "Thank you for everything, Spence."

Then Tyler asked the question that Mike knew had been playing on both of their minds the entire time. "How did you get here? Did you have something to do with that?"

"Well, kind of." John sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Mostly, it was whoever sent him."

Tyler blinked. "Who?"

"Tough guy, scarred. Came out of nowhere. Helped us out and got us here. He caused that explosion. Honestly…he kind of reminds me of you."

Narrowing his eyes, Tyler shot Mike another look and he nodded. They both locked sights on the smoke again. An eighth figure appeared in the smoke, back to them, watching with vigilance towards where he came from. He stepped out and turned to them.

It was Tyler who figured it out first. He stepped forward, about to say something, then froze. When Mike saw the face, he followed suit. The figure stared at Tyler and nearly slumped, before attempting a wave. Tyler stepped back and Mike nearly lost his grip on his rifle as the man's eyes fell onto him with a nod.

Then the man's eyes fell onto the three people by the front door of the lodge and he lost any semblance of strength. He mouthed something and with growing tears in his eyes, approached the lodge quickly.

"Dad!" Mike heard Harry scream as he ran, Katie following suit, "Dad!"

Thomas Caine collapsed onto his knees as his son ran into one arm and his daughter into the other. He wept, holding them both tightly. Moments later, Samantha stumbled from the entrance to the lodge and joined them, wrapping her arms around Thomas' neck.

Thomas, Samantha, Katie, and Harry all huddled together, crying and weeping as Mike, Tyler, Spencer, and all the others watched on, grins and shocked looks all around.

All the while, the smoke licked the sky towards the rising sun. Somehow, someway, scars and wounds and all, they had survived the night.

With that, Act 1 is complete. I'm hoping that things will slow down a little, as it's been a struggle to fit in all of this. Act 2 is already on the way.

TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L: In spite of his own attempts to the contrary, I fear Tyler is starting to warm up to Mike. Having fled from one massive firefight into another, all the while having to rely on each other, is a breeding ground for doubts. Thomas has also had quite the night himself and unfortunately, the signs of fatigue are going to show. The dynamic with Dave and Cassidy was one I was most excited to experiment with and it's going well so far; not only that, but the rest of the souls are going to get their own time to shine. They've all gone through a lot, but seeing so many people die in battle is something they never would've been ready for. I'd say had it not been for the souls, Thomas' efforts would have been for naught.